The lights on the police cars flashed red and blue in the fading light. The sirens had been turned off an hour ago.

The air still smelled like the rain that had ended minutes before, even as the skies began clearing in the twilight.

Jiraiya stood, watching as the police scurried about like ants, taking photo's, collecting evidence. Some poor sergeant had tried to tell him to leave and leave the police to their business a while ago, the glare that Jiraiya set him with was enough to make the officer nearly piss himself. He hadn't been bothered since.

It was kind of ironic that a single bullet could undo an entire life working towards becoming a veritable human weapon.

Blonde hair, usually wild and near untamable, lay plastered to the side of his head soaked and heavy from the relentless rain. Blank blue eyes, normally so full of life, stared into nothing while hands seemingly grasped at his wife.

Red hair, sopping wet and muddy, spread over the ground like a crimson halo framing the almost ephemeral beauty of the woman. There, on the ground, lips parted and arm outstretched toward her fallen lover, fingertips almost brushing, she looked like an angel. Like some sad rendition of a painting he had stared at for hours in the Vatican.

But there was no real beauty here. No passing of knowledge to mankind from God.

They were dead, the both of them.

Minato and Kushina lay there in the mud mere yards from their quaint little cottage in the mountains.

And for what? The police had told him it had been a robbery, their money was missing as were many of the valuables in the house.

The two people he cared for more than anything had been killed for little more than cash and a few petty items.

It hurt to think that was all their lives were worth to the man who had done this.

When the child had been passed into his arms he'd been at a loss.

What was he supposed to do with a child? Raising it himself seemed out of the question, he was a ninja after all. Well, a ninja in practice, he'd left his old village and their missions behind ages ago. But still, death was a constant presence in his life, he couldn't bring a kid into that, he was no Hayato Furinji.

The man had taken in his granddaughter after her mother had died and father disappeared, and now he was traveling with the girl to many of the more unsavory places in the world, already teaching her the basics of martial arts. What kind of man would do that to a child. And how could he do that to Minato's kid, because, ultimately, that's what would end up happening.

But there wasn't really any other choice. There was no one else to take the boy in, no one competent as a role model and guardian. He was standing on shaky ground himself on that aspect. And there was no way in Hell he'd hand him over to the state, he'd seen what that system had done to many children, he'd be in it as well.

So had Minato.

A sneeze brought Jiraiya out of his reverie and the kid, Naruto, shivered in his arms.

Damn.

In all his thoughts about protecting his student's son he'd probably given him a cold, standing in the rain. He still couldn't believe how soundly the boy slept.

Not a mark on him. Only two and already he looks so much like the both of them.

Blonde hair stuck out in every direction from the boy's head, wreathing his face in soft gold. The face, so obviously like his mother's, was completely relaxed in a way only someone oblivious to the world could be, the whisker like marks seeming to belong on tan skin.

I'm going to have to beat the girls off with a stick, just like his father. Lucky bastard. There's nothing for it. I'll take him. God help me.

/

It was on days like these that Naruto hated that he was a teenager in a society with an enforced mandatory education.

Late on my first day, freakin perfect. Stupid pervert, not waking me up, isn't he supposed to be my guardian or something

There had to be something wrong with that old man, seriously.

The man can remember every embarrassing detail of my entire life, but when it's anything other than porn and pissing me off he's totally useless.

So there he was, walking down a busy street, moving towards the first day of what could possibly be the most boring four years of his young life. High school.

I feel like I'm going to be jumped in this stupid getup. It's like they're training a bunch of little Nazi's with this uniform.

At least the girl he was walking behind was cute, at least from behind, her blonde hair was pulled back and twisted into a long braid. Her form was slim and lean but she wasn't a twig in any way, she looked almost like an athlete. The skirt that was part of her uniform was doing wonders for that butt and her legs.

Hehe, and she goes to my school, such a great view is worth being late.

A shout behind him ruined his musings.

"Dammit! I overslept! I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

The urge to toss the kid as he came barreling past was almost too much. Who the hell did he think he was?

And then the kid was in the air, legs still in running motion as his body flopped parallel to the sidewalk.

Holy shit snacks.

"Ahh!" the girl yelled, looking at the boy she'd clotheslined, "So-sorry, my body reacted on it's own!"

On it's own? What is she, some kind of assassin?

Stopping on the street Naruto watched the scene unfold, ignored or unnoticed by the teens up ahead.

The kid, a brunette, wearing the same uniform Naruto was, sat up quickly.

"My books!" the kid shouted, up surprisingly quick.

He's pretty energetic, isn't he.

"Sorry!" the blonde cried again, reaching to pick up one of the books. "Let me help you."

The boy looked shocked for a moment, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the concrete.

"Sorry to bother you," he said blushing before remembering that he practically be assaulted on the street. "Wait. Why did you attack me!" he yelled,"Were you trying to kill me?"

The girl suddenly looked bashful, cheeks turning several shades of red as she muttered an apology. It was for the first time that Naruto noticed she was wearing glasses.

That's a shame, she'd be super hot with out 'em. And what's with those boobs? There's no way she's fifteen.

"But," she started,"But if someone were to suddenly show up behind you it would be normal to throw them, right?"

The brown-haired kid looked at her like she'd grown a second head for a moment before glancing down at his watch.

"Oh no!" he shouted,"I'm seriously going to be late! If you don't hurry up you'll be late too!"

He yelled at the girl, looking behind him as he dashed down the street.

"Damn," She moaned, knocking the side of her head lightly with her fist,"My old habit."

It was then that Naruto began to approach again.

Moving directly behind his fellow blonde he was almost surprised when he felt her fingers curl around his wrist and jacket a second before he was heaved into the air.

Twisting deftly in the air as soon as she let him go, Naruto landed softly on the balls of his feet grinning like a madman when he saw the look of shock on her face.

Yup, definitely a cutie.

"Damn girl, you don't play around do you?" He said, laughing the look on her face,"But I'm super glad you didn't clotheline like me like that other guy. Otherwise I might not have been able to land, 'ttebayo."

"You saw that?" she said, embarrassment plain as day on her face.

"Sure did." Naruto said with a smile,"It was pretty cool too, the way you went all ninja on his ass."

He struck his best 'Kung Fu' pose, electing a giggle from the girl.

Probably one of the cutest sounds in the history of ever.

"You don't think it's weird?" She asked, glancing at him over the rims of her glasses through long eyelashes.

Naruto was caught speechless for a moment staring at this girl.

"What's wrong?" She asked, growing worried when he didn't answer,"Is there something on my face?"

"Uh... N-no, nothing's wrong, I just got brain freeze is all." He spouted, using the first words to come into his mouth.

What are you, an idiot? Brain freeze? You don't even have ice cream, no way is she gonna believe that.

"Oh, good. I was scared for a moment." She said, smiling cutely,"Hey he forgot one of his books."

"Uh, yeah we should return it to him. But, we should get going or we'll really be late."

"Oh, right. Do you want to follow me? I know a shortcut."

Maybe not so boring after all.

/

Standing in front of his new classmates no less than ten minutes later Naruto was lost in his thoughts as the bald guy that was supposedly his teacher introduced both he and... Miu to the class.

There's no way that girl is normal. I'm pretty sure we jumped over a river. Is she even disciple level?

Naruto was broken from his reverie by the sound of the door opening abruptly.

"Sorry I'm late." the guy from earlier said, walking into the classroom.

"Idiot!" His new teacher shouted, flinging one of the chalkboard erasers at the boy and connecting with deadly accuracy.

"I apologize. Please allow me to stand in the hall." he said, bowing.

What a chump.

"Obviously," the teacher said.

Naruto thought he heard a mumble of 'not again' from the crowd of students. Apparently this was a regular occurrence because the teacher had already pulled a bucket of water from beneath his stand and shoved it in the direction of the door.

But the kid completely ignored the teacher in favor of staring at Miu with confusion in his eyes.

Probably wondering how she got here before him.

"Ah, I haven't finished my introductions," the bald man said, turning back to the class,"There are our transfer students, Miu Furinji and Naruto Uzumaki. SHIRAHAMA! Why aren't you in the hall!"

Furinji? Naruto felt his eyes grow wider as he glanced at the girl beside him. Holy crap. No wonder she was able to jump a river, and throw me.

"Hello, I'm Miu Furinji. I transferred from Shouchiku Academy. Please take care of me." Miu said,smiling.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I transferred from Furinkan High School. I hope we can be friends, 'ttebayo"

Not boring at all.

/

Well that was fun, for me at least.

First off I guess I'd like to say I'm back. So yay for me, right? It's been a weird couple of years and for a while I lost the urge to write... well anything really. But it's back with a vengeance and it pulled me back here. I'm a little rusty though, so bare with me for a while, okay?

There's a possibility that I'll revive my one and only other story "The Life and Battles of a Teenage Jinchuuriki" but it needs a lot of reworking before that.

But I doubt any of you really care.

Until next time.

foz